Earlier this week, Sedqa, the agency against drug and alcohol abuse, issued a set of guidelines that are mainly aimed at keeping children and young people away from alcohol during the many summer festivals that are held all over Malta and Gozo.
Although they are directly intended for the summer parties and activities that are organised all through the hotter months, Sedqa’s intention does go further as the organisation tries to instill a greater sense of responsibility among adults, especially those who take their children with them to these festivals. Although the guidelines target summer activities, they can be applied at any time of the year.
Summer festivals often promote new alcoholic drinks and the fact that they are so popular with families means that young children are often taken to places where they are exposed to alcohol.
Sedqa said that children – and by this, one understands people under 16 years of age – should not be allowed to attend such activities unless they are accompanied by adults. Children who do attend with their parents should also be provided with a separate area of entertainment supervised by trained facilitators. Responsibility ultimately lies with the parents, but they should be encouraged to let their children play in the designated area.
Other instructions laid down by Sedqa indicate that signs saying that under 16s are not to be served with alcohol should be displayed in prominent places, identity cards should be asked for at the door or when purchasing alcoholic products and people working at the festival should never promote alcohol abuse.
Merchandise and promotional material should not be child-friendly and workers and staff manning stalls should be over 18 years of age.
But the guidelines do not only concern children. Seqda has also advised that no alcohol-drinking competitions should be held, prominent signs against drink-driving should be put up and that non-alcoholic beverages are to be made available.
One important point made by Sedqa – and it is in fact the first one on the list – is that “children are to be informed and educated at all times that alcohol beverages are intended for adults”.
This kind of information and education must start at home, by the parents and other close relatives. Schools can play an important part too, and some of them are in fact holding special classes on the harm that could be caused by alcohol abuse (and abuse of drugs too), but this could all be futile if the situation in the home is different.
Children are often introduced to alcohol, in particular to wine and beer, by their parents or close relatives during a family party or perhaps during Sunday lunch. Adults might consider allowing a 10-year-old to have a sip of beer or wine is harmless, but they should realise that by doing so they could open the door to problems in the future.
Sedqa’s campaign on alcohol should perhaps be more forceful in this respect, as very often adults do not realise the harm they could cause when they introduce young children to alcohol. Those adults who drink alcohol at home, which therefore means that children are exposed to it, should be the first to explain to the young ones that alcohol should be consumed only in moderate terms by adults and that children should not touch it.
Unfortunately, this is often not the case and this is where an agency such as Sedqa should step in with its useful advice.
Sedqa has done a great deal in bringing about more awareness on the problems related to alcohol abuse, and its campaigns against drink-driving have been successful in bringing about more awareness on the possible dangers of such habits. The publication of these guidelines is another positive step forward.